The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-16
DANBuRY,s DUMB MAN.
A Man Who Is Only Able to Conver
With Two Persons.

With Two Persons.
A Danbury Comm letter says: For some
time the pre-eminent interest Of this old
Connecticut town has centered in q resident
who is, from physiological and psychology
cal view, q wonder. His strangeness can
only be accounted for in the light tss ma
ternal antenatal experience which seems
to influence all his biological phenomena.
John Tice, or Dummy" as he is gener-
ally called, aged about 50, resides on Deer
hill Avenue, in the eastern part of Danbury.
he is Farmland, engaged most of the time
in the service of Mrs. Ryder, who resides at
Main and South streets and owns farm in
the outskirts. ''Dummy'sn sobriquet ipdi-
Gates less than half truth, for he converses
! readily enough with two persons, but is
| absolutely unable to talk 30 any one else on
earth. This statement neccessitates re-
| troSDect
''Dummys" mother according to undis-
puted witnesses, was amazonian, infieXible,
vindictive, unrelenting. Her animosities
were as bitter as her friendships were en-
during. Her husband was shiftless, indo-
lent, poor provider, and bibulous, often
arousing her wrath. About six month be-
| fore ''Dummy'sn birth her husband COM
| mitted an act so heinous in her eyes as fair
| ly TO stifie the accustomed torrent of her
sulk and humble and grind her teeth. Fin
nally her suppressed rage found vent in a
single sentence:
''You brute I'll never speak to you
again to my dying day."
Until after the birth of her child she nursed
| her wrath and kept her word. She spoke,
| indeed, to no one except to her mother, to
| her friend, Mrs. Mccain, young widow,
| and the latter's little daughter The Meme
thst hos y1I1..cI1aJ fbrnuorb
| first manifested its presence i'll infancy.
| When alone with his mother, Mrs. Mccain,
or her daughter, Johnny was able without
| any more difficulty than other children of
his age to frame words and to unite them in
| to sentences, but to everybody else the child
was utterly unable to articulate. He was
never able, try as he might, to speak word
| tohis father. As he could not recite any
| thing he was not sent to school, He cannot
| read or write.
A party of roughs, some time ago, believ-
| ing that he could but would not converse,
| inveigled him to secluded spot and threat
ened him with death If he did not speak to
| them and answer their questions. He could
| only plead in dumb show for his life Then
| they beat and fearfully maltreated him.
! fully convinced at last that he was not
| shamming. After his mothers death he
| married one of the remaining persons he
could talk to, the widow McCann He
| lives with her at the present time, convers-
| ing readily with her and her daughter,
now Mrs. Pudgeley. Assingle incident will
| Illustrate how he communicates with
| them
A gentleman recently desired to buy one
| of his ROSTERS and he called upon "Dum-
| my" and the latter's wife. He made his of
fer to them and inquired whether it was ac-
cepted.
an take him one side and see what he
! says about it." she replied tc the visitor.
| Then Dummy" and his wife went out
near an clubhouse, beyond hearing, but the
visitor could see "Dummy's" lip moving and
| the pair in evident conversation. Upon their
return the woman accepted the offer in her.
| husbands name. He cannot converse with
his wife in another's presence. His hearing
and understanding are normal, and the two
| persons he can talk to say he manifestS no
| difficulty in expressing himself to them clear
| ly, nor in enunciatioD.
| Mrs. Ryder, for whom he works, in com
mon with all others who have had relations
with him, pronounces him good workman,
| faithful, intelligent, conprehending readily
| everything required of him, but doomed to
| general dumbness by an memorable law
ante-dating his birth. A physician who
| takes great interest in the case and has ex-
amined ''Dummy'sn throat explains his ply
siological difficulties as follow:
| "There is always nervous excitement
attendant upon his efforts to speak before
strangers. In ordinary speech the cpl
! CLOTHS is distended and the vibratory cords
are expanded. In his case they do not re-
spond to the will. A sort of paralysis ex-
| lists. In the absence of nervous excitement
they would act normally and speech would
| follow"
This is the pathological view, but it does
not explain why speech is vouchsafed only
when addressing those his mother favored
| just previous to his birth. 1t does not ex-
plain the preternatural phases which
puzzle psychologists and scientists alike,
and are the wonder of townsmen and
| strangers.